Thursday, June 26, 2014

Tying Up Loose Ends

After the "high" of finishing the scrapghan, I decided to continue the good feeling by tackling a few "loose end projects" hanging around the house. Unless I want to use something right away, I can be prone to procrastinating that sort of thing, and they pile up.

I sewed a button the crocodile stitch "Pinecone Neckwarmer" I made back in... ~checking~ ...oh, September 2012. (And that's not even the record-holder in this blog entry!)

Then I approached the knitted objects with woven ends left hanging. I'm much worse about weaving ends in knitting than in crochet, because I know how to weave ends into crochet, but for some reason, I'm still shy about the knitted objects. Not a good excuse, really, because with the help of a couple of YouTube videos, I got them done in very little time, compared to the months they've been waiting.

First, two hats:
A teal Foliage for me...
And a brown Simple Cabled Hat for Donald.
(There are still no photos on the second project page. They both need washing and blocking before I put them into storage. I'll try to snap a photo or two before putting them away.)

After that, I was on a roll, so I wove multiple ends into my Regency Ruffles scarf. (I like it. I've almost forgotten how long it took to finish the thing.)

Finally, I wove in the tails on my Obsidian Multnomah. This shawlette, by the way, holds the record as the oldest project in this blog entry. I started it in April 2012, finished it in October 2013, and only got around to weaving the ends this week. Now I need to block it-- another hurdle, my first time using blocking wires.

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I didn't want the feeling of accomplishment to stop, so instead of starting a new project (and yes, I was tempted), I decided to work on one of my numerous WIPs. (Not one of the afghans, though. I'm not feeling up to finishing another afghan just yet...)

The latest linen stitch cowl (Apple Blossom Chickadee) seemed do-able. I probably could've just bound off right away, but instead opted to add a little more length-- not enough for boredom to set in, though. I've finished that one, now, and even went ahead and weaved in the ends right away, like a good little knitter. ;o)

My current active WIP is the Hypno-Cushion. I'm not sure exactly how large I originally intended to make this cushion cover, and my Ravelry notes aren't especially helpful on that point, but I think I'll keep it small. Just eight motifs, four per side. They're all crocheted now. Up next, joining motifs, sewing the pillow insert, and closing up the cover. (I have another crochet project on hold because it requires a bit of sewing. I keep putting it off... Maybe I can make myself work on both of them over the weekend. The sewing machine's not that scary, once you start.)

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I'm not sure how long I can keep this finishing-streak going, but the longer I can resist starting something new, the better it'll be. I'd like to not feel guilty about my next new project.

...Wow. I didn't remember that there were that many things on this list. A couple of them I could finish in an afternoon or less. A few, I'm not even sure I want to finish-- especially the crochet wreath and the novelty yarn afghan. In fact... Yeah, I don't think I'm going to finish the afghan. I'm almost positive that I'll be scrapping that one. The strip I've finished could be a dog blanket, maybe-- or a very warm and fuzzy stole for someone with a brave soul and an unusual fashion sense. ;o) Of course I could finish it, but if I really don't want to, it's a waste of precious time and energy. Better to donate the leftover novelty yarn to someone who'll actually enjoy it than to force myself to use it simply because I made the mistake of buying it. It was all clearance-bin yarn, so there's not that much waste... The bigger waste would be throwing hours of time into it, only to have it sit unused in a closet or chest because it's so not my style that I wouldn't want to look at it.

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We're getting closer to the beginning of that mystery crochet-along I wrote about before. The designer/hostess, Julie Yeager, postponed the start to make sure she got everything ironed out properly, but she's said it's nearly ready-- by July, at the latest, I think. (Here's her Ravely group page, where you can learn more.)

I'll probably make an exception to my "no new projects" kinda-sorta "rule" for this, since it's a MCAL and will be more fun if it's worked along with everyone else.

I think I'm still sticking more or less with the yarn I posted about before, though Julie wrote a little more about color options after I made those choices. I think she said something about being less focused on having a "main color"-- and that more than four colors could work very well.

I'm looking forward to that first real clue (though I haven't even worked on the sample clue, yet)!

Welcome!

I'm Michael (frequently found online as "MossyOwls"), and this is where I keep track of my crafty interests. I love to crochet, enjoy the occasional small knitting project, and am beginning to play around with (simple) machine quilting and watercolor painting. (No telling what could come next!)

Before I became obsessed with crocheting, I used to blog about another crafting passion-- polymer clay. (Might pick it up again, one of these days...)